Ningen-do
Ningen-do was the Realm of Mortals. It was the realm in which Rokugan laid, along with all of the other powers on the same world. Nonetheless, it was still one of the eleven Spirit Realms, and its inhabitants and visitors would react the same to this Realm as any of the others. Fortunes & Winds, p. 6 Connection to other Realms Ningen-do was the realm that laid closest to Jigoku, Fortunes & Winds, p. 31 and also to Chikushudo, Gaki-do, Meido, Sakkaku, Yomi, and Yume-do. Toshigoku and Tengoku were distant from Ningen-do. The only known passage to Tengoku was in the Imperial Throne Room in Otosan Uchi, where so many Fortunes had been proclaimed by the Emperors. Mortality was the control of exerted by Ningen-do. Fortunes & Winds, p. 106 The Beginning The Five Races, Zokujin, Ningyo, Kenku, Trolls, and Kitsu, determined to combine their will to make a world that would last forever, instead of the maelstrom of energies it was. The first kami, the elemental spirits, were born by intermediate of them, using a big crystal as focus located in the City of Night. The newborn kami drew lines of order through chaos, formed boundaries between earth and sky and between land and sea. They gave purpose to fire's hunger, and made the Void into the balance between all and nothing. Ningen-do, the mortal realm as man knew it, was created. Enemies of the Empire, p. 175 The mortal realm was composed of a balance of the Five Elements, as well as the influence of Thunder in mortal souls. Secrets of the Dragon, p. 91 Jigoku Awakens The creation of this new world awakened the dark realm of Jigoku, which looked upon the stability of Ningen-do with a terrible hunger. It wished to destroy this newborn world, to feed upon the kami and enslave the Five Races to its service. It sent forth its servants, the ruthless oni, and began to wage war upon Ningen-do. Enemies of the Empire, p. 176 The Sun and Moon The first man and woman, children of the Three Gods, descended on a rainbow from the Heavens to Ningen-do to give form the shapeless earth. They gave a name to the world, and as the name was spoken, so were their own names, becoming Onnotangu and Amaterasu, the Moon and Sun. In this moment the earth separated from the sea, and the life there happened. In the Heavens the Fortunes began to take form, born in ihe dreams of the Creatures who slept far below. Roleplaying in the Emerald Empire, p. 17 After Fall of the Kami Rokugani mythology held that before the Fall of the Kami, Tengoku was much closer to Ningen-do, and that the inhabitants of the two realms could easily pass between them. The story told that after the Fall, the Dragons were enthralled with humanity, offering power to those they chose, and even bringing some to live in Tengoku. Amaterasu and Onnotangu were troubled by the Dragons' meddling, believing that their interference would be detrimental to the newly-created Empire, and so they lifted the Celestial Heavens away from Rokugan, forcing the Dragons to decide whether to tear humanity away from Ningen-do or to abandon them to mortality. The Dragons chose to leave humanity, along with parts of themselves, that they might continue contact. These essences of the Dragons were each given to a single individual, who became the Dragon's agent in Ningen-do. Thus, the Oracles were created. Way of the Phoenix, p. 106 The Dragon and the Nezumi Races from Ningen-do Zokujin, ningyo, kenku, lesser kami, ogres, trolls, and bakemono all seemed to have originated in the Mortal Realm. Naga and humans were in actuality not natives of Ningen-do. Humans were offspring of Lady Sun and Lord Moon, so they were technically denizens of the Celestial Heavens, now trapped in the mortal world. Naga also seemed to link their race to the Sun and Moon. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 220 *